This invention relates generally to the field of support pillows, and in particular to covers for support pillows. More specifically, the invention relates to removable covers for support pillows so that a single support pillow can be modified simply by substituting one cover with another cover.
Support pillows have gained widespread acceptance in a variety of applications. For example, support pillows are now commonly used to support infants and babies in certain positions. Support pillows are also used to provide back support, to facilitate nursing, to support objection in front of a person, and the like. Such uses are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,261,134; 5,661,861; 6,038,720; 6,055,687; 6,119,873; and 5,546,620, the complete disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Some support pillows are constructed of a filler material that is stuffed into a fabric shell. This shell may be completely closed, such as with a sewn seam, to prevent the filler material from inadvertently being removed. The fabric shell may be decorated with a variety of colors and/or patterns.
This invention is related to covers for these and other types of support pillows so that the decorative and/or utilitarian functionally of such pillows may to easily be varied.
The invention provides exemplary covers for support pillows and methods for their use. With such covers, a single support pillow can be modified to have a different color, design, texture, or the like as well as a different utilitarian function.
In one embodiment, the covers are useful with a cushion body having a medial region and two opposing arms that define a generally open well. The cushion body further includes an outer periphery and an inner periphery adjacent the well, with each of the arms terminating in an end. A shell encompasses and tightly conforms to the cushion body. With such support pillows, the fabric cover may be constructed so that it may be placed over the shell, with the fabric cover conforming to the shell. To facilitate placement of the cover over the pillow, the fabric cover includes an opening, and at least one fastener is provided to close the opening once the cover has been placed over the shell. In this way, a support pillow may be modified simply by inserting the pillow into the opening of the cover and then operating the fastener to close the opening.
The opening may be positioned at a wide variety of locations on the cover. For example, the opening may be located along the outer periphery at the medial region, along the inner periphery on one of the arms, along the outer periphery on one of the arms, across the medial region, along one of the ends, or across one of the arms. In one aspect, the fabric cover may comprise a curved tubular member having two ends, where one of the ends is closed and one of the ends is open to define the opening. Such a cover further includes an end flap to cover the opening, and the fastener is used to couple the end flap to the tubular member.
In another aspect, the cushion body is constructed of a fill material that is compressed within the shell. In a further aspect, the shell is constructed of a fabric.
A variety of fasteners may be used to close the opening. For example, the fastener may comprise a zipper, a hook and loop fastener material, or the like. In one optional aspect, at least one peripheral item may be attached to the cover to vary the utility of the pillow. Conveniently, an attachment mechanism may be used to attach the peripheral item to the cover. Merely by way of example, the peripheral item may comprise a toy and the attachment mechanism may comprise a strap. As another example, the peripheral item may comprise a head of a figure, such as an animal head.
The invention also provides a method for covering a support pillow that is similar to the support pillow described above. The method further utilizes a cover that is formed from a curved tubular member having an open interior. According to the method, a fastener on the cover is operated to form or expose an opening in the tubular member to provide access to the interior. The support pillow is placed into the interior of the cover through the opening and the cover is manipulated so that the cover covers the shell and conforms to the shape of the support pillow. The fastener is then operated to close or cover the opening.
By using such a cover, the fastener may be operated to reform or re-expose the opening, and the cover may be removed from the support pillow. Another cover may then be placed over the support pillow in a similar manner.
A variety of techniques may be used to form the opening. For example, a zipper may be unzipped, a flap may be removed from the cover, or the like. In another aspect, a peripheral item may be attached to the cover. For example, the peripheral item may comprise a toy that may be attached by use of a strap that is attached to the cover. In a further aspect, the opening may be formed across the medial region, along one of the arms, along one of the ends, or the like.